Reflections
by Mapu
Summary: An introspective fanfic scene having father and son compare themselves to each other. It’s funny how we never see ourselves as others do.
1. Looking Backward

**Reflections  
**By Mapu

**Disclaimer**: Veritas: The Quest belongs to Touchstone and the ABC Corporation

* * *

Chapter 1:**Looking Backward**

_Everyone tells me that I have my mother's eyes._

Nikko turned his head from side to side, carefully examining his features in the mirror. His eyes were widely spaced and very blue, just as he remembered his mother's had been.

The hearts of a number of school girls had melted because of his eyes and several had told him how attractive they were. Nikko supposed it was true; his eyes looked nice, but there was something missing… to him they looked soft and weak. They lacked the intensity, strength and commitment of purpose he could see in his father's, they clearly reflected the man's strength of character and self confidence. His father had eyes you could trust. Nikko remembered his mother's eyes had been soft too, but unlike his they had also exposed the force of her intelligence and curiosity. The younger Zond's didn't see any of that vigour in himself… his eyes looked pleasing but superficial. Flashy, but they had no depth to them.

_If eyes are the windows to the soul, what does that say about me?_

It wasn't just his eyes that made him look soft. He was seventeen, very nearly an adult, but still had a lot of the immaturity of childhood lingering in his features. Where his father had a strong, angular face… the face of a leader, Nikko looked like he still needed help tying his laces… or folding his clothes.

_This is why he doesn't take me seriously; I still look like a kid._

Nikko frowned; in the mirror the expression looked more like a pout, he could only describe the result as sulky. He looked like an infant missing out on a treat. He tried several expressions each one stupider than the last. Eventually he poked tongues at his own reflection in disgust. The teenager stoped, pulling faces wasn't helping and he'd never live it down if someone like Vincent or Calvin caught him at it.

_Don't I have anything from my father_? _Maybe he can't see it either and that's why he doesn't want me around._

If his father could see nothing in him that he could relate to it would explain why he didn't want Nikko around him, getting in the way and bothering him while he was working. Both he and his father were tall, dark-haired and fit but that was it. The old man was still taller but Nikko knew that in a few years he'd probably be at least as tall.

_That's it… my height, that's all I get from my father?_

It was a sobering and depressing thought that the only recognisable physical trait he shared with his father was something as trivial as his height. One thing Nikko was sure he'd inherited from his father was the man's pig-headedness, but he was pretty sure he'd gotten at least some of that from his mother too, she was famous for her stubborn tenacity. Although it would probably help to reduce the number and intensity of fights with his father, it wasn't really something he wanted to change about himself. If he didn't stand up for himself, his father's quest would probably overshadow him entirely and his father would barely notice his presence at all.

_We're always fighting; little wonder he doesn't want me around. His life was probably better without me._

Nikko knew he didn't really fight with his father everyday, it just felt like that sometimes, but in reality they often got along incredibly well. Mostly it happened while they were working together, both of them had a love of adventure and felt the thrill of discovery that only those who experienced it could really understand.

Smiling, Nikko turned away from his reflection, it would be embarrassing to be caught staring in the mirror like that, and he had his answer now. There was something he had inherited and shared with his father… the quest.

_Maybe we're not so different under the surface after all. I can live with that._


	2. Looking Forward

* * *

Chapter 2: **Looking Forward**

_The kid is so much like his mother that it scares me sometimes._

Solomon watched his son. The boy looked very comfortable, half-siting and half-laying on one of the office sofas as he drew an intricate sketch into his notebook. It was a skill and talent the boy had inherited from his mother, one he admired. Solomon could remember many peaceful nights spent with Haley as she filled in her notebooks, very often sketching from memory, but with startling accuracy, details from the day's dig. Nikko did the same thing; the kid's memory and eye for visual detail were phenomenal, just like his mother's. Nikko looked up as the office door opened and Maggie, loaded down with research books and papers came in. Instantly the teenager got to his feet and went to help her, relieving her of the heavier books.

_He's got the best of his mother in him…_

Nikko was always doing things like that, even as a small child the boy had always seemed happiest when he was helping someone. He'd been a great kid, most of the time. Like all children he'd had his share of temper tantrums and tested his parent's limits with disobedience but always the boy had tried to help. Usually just explaining to Nikko that his actions were not helping had been enough to curb the bad behaviour. The kindness of heart was definitely something he had gotten from Haley… that and her insatiable curiosity.

…_but he's got the worst of me._

Solomon knew that he had more than a token amount of curiosity himself, and it had gotten him into serious trouble more than once, just like the proverbial cat. Nikko seemed to share his penchant for attracting trouble. It was an ability that he wished he hadn't passed on to the boy, every time they went out into the field, Solomon found himself fearful of the danger his son might find. Unfortunately, the boy had managed to justify those fears on several occasions. Solomon would like to be able to leave his son behind and protect him from those risks, but he knew it was too late for that. Nikko had gotten a taste for the adventure of his job and the kid's stubbornness and temper, traits Solomon knew he shared, made any discussion of Nikko remaining behind impossible. All he could do as a father to protect his son was train the boy to the best of his ability. Fortunately the kid was good, perhaps someday he would be even better than Solomon was.

_I can't wait to see who he's going to grow to become in a few years._

Nikko returned to his sofa after helping Maggie and picking up his notebook continued working on the sketch. Solomon could remember a time, back when Nikko had been a small child, when he and Haley had discussed the boy's future. They had both joked that it would make their working lives easier to have either a lawyer or a politician in the family, someone who could smooth out some of the more annoying and tricky legal entanglements they often found themselves caught in. Nikko choosing a nice safe career away from Veritas's dangerous world was becoming less and less likely. Nikko had an adventurous spirit and got as much as he did from each new discovery. Solomon knew he was going to have to accept it; there was another archaeologist in the family

_He's my son._


End file.
